Pixen is the best program for the pixel artist using Mac OS X. There is no competition, not even from the huge companies with several-hundred-dollar software suites. Their applications are inferior for pixel art, by virtue of their being conceived with a completely different intent.

Pixen is specifically for small-scale or pixel art; it shines better there than any other application. Not only that, but Pixen carries no price tag: it's open source under the MIT license and absolutely free.

Pixen has more unique and powerful features for pixel art than any other program, including some features that are exclusive to Pixen and have never been in any other graphics program.

The majority of these most interesting features have come as direct requests from our users, professional and amateur pixel artists who, like us, see Pixen as a tool built for the artist-not for a marketing department.

Here are some key features of "Pixen":

· Beautiful Aqua+Cocoa interface
Extensive file format support:
· Image formats: .pxi, .gif, .jpg, .png, .tiff, .bmp, .ico, .eps, .pict, .lif, and .pxi
· Animation formats: .pxa, .gif (animated), .mov, a sequence of images, a sprite sheet
· Palette formats: .pxpalette, .pal (Microsoft), .pal (Jasc), .act

· Assign a tool and color to the right mouse button
· Alignment crosshairs to keep your work straight and proportionate
· Configurable tools: brush size, tolerance, contiguity, sampling sources, etc.
· Make and draw with patterns
· A flexible preview window to keep things in perspective when you're zoomed in
· A floating info panel gives you instant answers about colors and sizes
· Overlays in animation to show you what the previous cel looked like
· Highly customizable grid for any kind of project
· Optional automatic backups for complete confidence
· Comprehensive, searchable documentation
· Universal binary for any Mac
· Automatic updates with Sparkle

Requirements:

· QuickTime 7 or later